The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law that provides important protections for employees in the United States. If you or a loved one is expecting a child, it is especially important to understand what FMLA leave entails. Knowing your rights under FMLA can...
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Are LGBT workers entitled to FMLA?
While LGBT rights continue to advance across the nation, there are some disparities in equality at the state level. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognizes LGBT marriages and unions, and because of a Supreme Court ruling, must also allow LGBT couples to receive...
Are you protected in the workplace when you are pregnant?
The federal and state governments in Pennsylvania have given employers guidelines when it comes to discriminating against employees. For example, no workplace can discriminate because of a person’s age, ethnicity, religion or race. One thing that some people do not...
All parents may be eligible for FMLA leave
Mothers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere may be entitled to take FMLA leave during a pregnancy or after giving birth. However, fathers are also generally entitled to take the same unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or the child's mother. Eligible fathers may take...
Termination close to FMLA leave can be problematic
Pennsylvania employees who lose their jobs during or soon after taking family leave sometimes accuse their employers of retaliation. Negative actions taken toward employees when they request time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act might impose liabilities on...
Appeals court requires lower standard in FMLA case
Pennsylvania employees might have a lower burden of proof in demonstrating that they were fired in retaliation for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In a case involving a woman with poor job reviews, the employer had extensively documented issues...
FMLA, FLSA still observed during natural disasters
Pennsylvania employers whose workplaces are in areas where a natural disaster happens are still bound by the laws of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers should keep this mind when they are making disaster preparedness plans and...
Company denies FMLA benefits, pays in court
Poor choices based on a faulty understanding of employment law can lead to major litigation costs and damages levied against Pennsylvania employers. In one such case, a woman lost her job after a denial of leave time to care for her autistic son. The case was decided...
Court sides with employee after employer misinterprets FMLA
Pennsylvania workers who are struggling to assert their right to family leave might be encouraged by a ruling from a federal appeals court. It upheld a lower court's jury verdict in favor of the employee using time off through the Family and Medical Leave Act to care...
FMLA retaliation case linked to time of employer’s actions
Some Pennsylvania employees may believe they have been retaliated against at work for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. One factor a court will take into account when determining if FMLA retaliation has taken place is the proximity in terms of time...